Chavez: Silencia!

Comrade Hugo is getting irritated - people dare criticize him. For this sin, they'll be expelled from the country. Captain's Quarters has the story and some dire predictions for the country's future.

Food for thought: if the country's returning to authoritarianism, why don't we do it our way? One cruise missile and we'll install an SOB who will at least be our SOB. Call me an imperialist pig if you like, but if South Americans are going to submit meekly to dictatorships, we might as well ensure our interests are represented.

More food for thought: why wasn't this problem nipped in the bud? We could have turned up the diplomatic heat on Caracas, or the economic heat (say an embargo on Venezuelan oil). Instead, we let it fester and now it's been exported to other parts of continent. It is now also cozying up to Russia and others, attempting to become a regional power-broker and buying arms at a disturbing pace.

And a historical note: during TR's presidency, the US and Germany almost came to blows over Venezuela, when the country defaulted on its debts and Germans demanded compensation. Admittedly that's what happens when you have a petulant kaiser with the temperament of a child and a desire to show off his military might. But now the Venezuelans pull a similar stunt and our reaction is...still waiting...